Human cost

Nearly one million Mosul residents have been displaced by the fighting – with many living in camps outside the city with little shelter from the summer sun.

The liberation of the city has come at a heavy cost for the local population, with the terrorists known to have used civilians as human shields.

The group has also shot and killed Iraqi residents trying to flee the city according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, airstrikes undertaken by the US-led coalition attempting to root out the extremists have caused huge collateral damage in the city – reportedly resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians.

Deadly battle

Newstalk’s foreign affairs correspondent Shona Murray was in the city over the past week as the battle came to its conclusion.